SerTapTap
Member
There's bare penises in both Outlast and Amnesia on Steam in the US so no that's not the issue
All Russian/Brazillian (or similar) games on Steam now have regional activation locks
- Thread starter Salsa
- Start date
There's bare penises in both Outlast and Amnesia on Steam in the US so no that's not the issue
No, because games in those regions are already priced at significant discounts relative to the US/EU.
This move was made to prevent price arbitrage based on currency values where people in "wealthier" regions took advantage of those discounted prices.
You've got it backwards. The change only affects Steam gifts bought in and multi-pack keys activated in Mexico and the like.
legacyzero
Banned
Welp. that's that.
they want to prevent people outside those regions from buying cheap russian or brazillian version of games.
Not really. Here in Panama the games have the same price as the US store. Only Origin and GoG lowers the price of their games.
Edit: also, some gaffer who lives near Brazil said the prices of the games aren't cheaper unlike, well, the Brazilian store.
It kinda isn't because most of the time Russia gets the same version as everyone else.
It really isn't. Many of the stores affected have the exact same price as the US one, for example.
And in the other end, there's a crapload of poor european countries, that have a average salary close or lower than Russia and they pay the same as the rest of the EU.
I mean, if you want to do regional pricing and locking, DO IT RIGHT.
Green Biker Dude
Banned
they force vns to be censored. the gta4 expansions have full front nudity. max payne 3 has nude women as well. it's a double standard and it doesn't make any sense
if the americans/anglosphere are offended by titties, they can keep only the us/anglosphere versions censored. the rest of the world isn't offended by sex and nudity. people who live in other countries shouldn't have their products censored because americans are against something
Ok i'm fine with this...glad to see those users still can buy keys from outside
PANIC MODE/OFF
Gee, I dunno.
Maybe look at the 487 times that question has already been answered in this thread.
So why would this affect Nuuvem? Are the keys they give you still considered gifts?
Gotcha, thanks, at least that option remains lol
Will be interesting to see this unfold once it reaches the mainstream. There'll be lots of unhappy customers hitting the Steam message boards soon I assume.
Again, it doesn't affect keys, unless those keys are keys for 4packs specifically.
lashman
Steam-GAF's Official Ambassador to Gaming-GAF
... like poland
nothing better than having to pay 60 for new games in a country where the average salary is around 400 per month ... thanks, volvo
Facism
Member
MakeshiftChef
Member
Looks like I'll be going back to only purchasing games after they receive a big discount. Ah well, it was great while it lasted.
Cbajd5
Member
guys there'll be more pricing mistakes to make up for this right
i need my deals man
i can't live without my deals
i don't need the games even i just need my deals
Like seriously, I still need to get around to playing those games I got in that Bethesda Pack mistake like two years ago.
i need my deals man
i can't live without my deals
i don't need the games even i just need my deals
Like seriously, I still need to get around to playing those games I got in that Bethesda Pack mistake like two years ago.
(sigh)
The answer is "Yes, the already activated games in your Steam library are safe."
ramoisdead
Member
RIP Steam Bear. I didn't want it to happen but it looks like it has come to this. Steam has been Nintendo'd.
This is pretty confusing to me.
When i activate a product on steam, they know where a key it's from, but how can they know if i got it from a store like Nuuvem or a Brazilian key reseller/private user? Sorry i'm not being intentionally obtuse, just trying to wrap my head around this.
EDIT: Whatever i'll check this thread tomorrow, 'cause i need to get a couple of hours of sleep.
I got Witcher 3 a while ago, before the lock.
But, I've had it in my inventory - NOT actually redeemed to my account.
Is my copy still cool or not?
But, I've had it in my inventory - NOT actually redeemed to my account.
Is my copy still cool or not?
YES! YOU WILL BE ABLE TO PLAY THOSE GAMES THAT YOU PURCHASED AND ARE IN YOUR ACCOUNT!
Can someone put that in the OP so that the question doesn't keep getting asked over and over and over...
A multi-pack key bought from Brazil wouldn't be region-locked unless the publisher set up the package it's tied to in such a way. If someone with a Brazilian IP were to activate it, however, the resulting spares would be region-locked.
It isn't.
?????
So this doesn't make sense. I'm not talking about only about the games I already own, I'm considering the games I will still buy in the future.
Facism
Member
Watch Dogs' RU pre-order subs were region-locked a couple of months after pre-orders went live and the post-release standard edition sub was OARIC-locked before it went up. The post-release RU DDE sub only has ACRTAG. You may also want to inform him that the RU subs are "language-locked" to Russian, so unless he's fluent in the language the game will essentially be unplayable for him even if he uses a VPN/the app id trick to run the game.
You can't buy games from one region in another. It doesn't matter where your Steam account is from, if you're connecting to your Brazillian account on the US Steam Store (because you have an American IP because you're in the united states), you'll access the US store and you won't be able to buy anything (because your account says you're from one country while you're accessing from another country).
You'd have, at that point, contact Steam support and let them know that you're traveling. Your account will then be unlocked to buy games from the region you're CURRENTLY IN.
In other words, while in the US, you'll be able to buy games from the US store, as long as you notify Steam support (and I would suggest you to contact the support BEFORE going to this other country and letting them know upfront). NOT the Brazilian store.
All in all, I'm glad I sold all these 21 TF2 keys earlier today, when the Russian-Store prices being adjusted rumour showed up.
Vlaphor
Member
Ok, I know that my games are safe, but I am getting a few conflicted reports about which regions this affects. At first it sounded like all regions, but then someone just said Mexico or something, so I'll ask to make sure.
I live in the USA, can I get an import copy of a game gifted to me, or is that no longer an option?
I live in the USA, can I get an import copy of a game gifted to me, or is that no longer an option?
I have no interest in buying games in the USA, here in Brazil we already have the best prices on steam.
But hypothetically, if I go to the USA I will be able to play the games I already own that I bought in Brazil right?
Also if I decide to buy new games while abroad, I will always be redirected to the Brazilian store and I would not have any problem in buying them cheap as if I were in Brazil?
These are my only doubts, the way you explained it seems this change doesn't affect me at all (if so, great lol). Thanks for your attention.
EDIT: just read more carefully and I understood about not being able to buy games from divergent regions, sorry for this I'm really tired right now. But I would still be able to buy the games I already bought right?
Your first question is not regarding the current changes at all: The changes that occurred today have already been in place for NEW RELEASES for the past 2 months, and they're only regarding the ACTIVATION of games, not the RUNNING of them.
Your second question was already answered in my message: Valve doesn't care about what you WANT to do, they only care about your current geographical region. It doesn't matter where your account was created, it only matters where you're accessing from: If your account is Brazilian (which seems to be the case) and you're accessing the service from the US (by using an american IP), you'll only be able to access (and purchase from, after letting Valve know through the support) the US Store.
You won't be able to access the Brazilian store from the US.
Thanks for your answer and sorry for not not reading carefully.
Gifts purchased in these territories will be region-locked at the activation level and ditto for gifts earned by activating a multi-pack key. That's it.
Let's just say that the collapse of the rouble might have hastened things along a bit.
Xisiqomelir
Member
Precisely right.
Eternal Gamer
Member
Well as long as we can get ROW keys from HB, is fine.